


just one more try

by SidewaysClarinet



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Also bad flirting rip Shima, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fantasy, Fluff, Itssssss a little bit of crack, Light-Hearted, Lots of bad pickup lines LMAO, M/M, Mage and the Demon Queen AU, Most of the characters are background save for Kamiki, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Shima is a blackfire phoenix, Tho you dont need to know mage and the demon queen to understand!!, Yukio is a human adventurer, just a little bit, plot if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26009383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SidewaysClarinet/pseuds/SidewaysClarinet
Summary: From the second Shima saw that handsome adventurer in the white clothes and dark-framed glasses, he was enthralled. He knew he just had to do it- he had to get a date with the guy! But getting the adventurer to look at him was harder than it seemed, and it would take the combined efforts of himself, and the other (reluctant) demon generals to finally get that pretty boy to look his way!(and what was all of this about the demon king's younger brother?!)
Relationships: Okumura Yukio/Shima Renzou
Comments: 12
Kudos: 43





	just one more try

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I had this idea a week or so while reading a webtoon called 'Mage and the Demon Queen', and the entire comic was giving me major Yukio/Shima vibes! If you don't know the webtoon, it's no big deal! This fanfic mostly uses the world and concepts of Mage and the Demon Queen, whereas the plot is pretty different! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and feel free to leave questions in the comments if I was too vague about something!

Renzou saw him for the first time, coincidentally, on his first day as one of the tower's demon generals. He was a first floor general, in charge of the more introductory level, weaker demons that adventurers faced first on their challenge. So, he was used to seeing quite a few people passing through (and ultimately defeating, killing, and sending back to their church to be revived).

But this one? Oh dear God above, did this man stand out.

Renzou almost laughed, when he first saw this adventurer. The man was wearing an outfit layered mostly with shades of white and grey, and how foolish was that? To wear such an easily damaged and stained color when challenging the tower- the guy either had to be a poser, or ridiculously confident in his abilities.

The second thing he noticed was the man's eyes. An incredible shade of turquoise, hidden behind the frames of glasses, but clouded over with boredom and apathy. He was completely blank faced, and when he stepped into Renzou's floor, he just seemed to breathe both confidence and yet derision at the same time. He carried no weapon, and made his way straight for the stairs at the next level.

"Oi," Renzou had called out to him, grinning lazily from his perch on the floor, leaned up against the wall. "You seem like you made your way up here pretty easy. I hate to have to send such a cool guy back to the church after an entrance like that."

Sure, he had been a little overconfident, but could anyone really blame him? It was his first day defending the tenth floor, and he hadn't lost a battle yet.

But the man only glanced over at him, pausing for only a brief moment. "...ah. You're not Kinzou."

"No, I'm not," Renzou sighed, his smile dropping. Damn, it was like he couldn't go a minute without someone bringing up his brothers! "He left on some tour with his band mates, or whatever. This is my position now."

"Is that so?" The man asked. There was something like curiosity in his voice, barely there, but then he was turning back towards the stairs. "Goodbye, then."

"Hey, wait!" He scrambled to his feet, indignation rising up as he crossed the room to stand before the adventurer. "I'm not letting you past, dude! This is my first day, I can't end this off in a lame way like that!"

The man opposite him only blinked, then looked away. "I suppose you're looking for a fight, then."

"Hell yeah, I am!" Renzou declared. He couldn't embarrass himself in front of his new colleagues by letting someone just waltz past him!

"Alright then."

The man reached a hand out, and there was a flash of blue light that solidified into something long, and bent. The light flashed away, and suddenly a bow was held in the adventurer's hand. Another beat, and then he had an arrow in the other hand, and as he drew the arrow back, a bright blue flare popped up again at the arrow's tip.

Renzou only got one last glimpse of blue flickering across the features of the man's face before the arrow loosened, and for a brief second, the only thought that occurred to him was that now, looking at him up close, this had to be the prettiest man Renzou had ever seen in his life

And then everything promptly turned black.

* * *

When he came to, it was with a groan and a fierce pulse of pain between his brows. Renzou felt the ground against his back, and blinked away the fuzz in his eyes to see the ceiling of the generals' break room. There was a murmur of noise that pierced through the cotton in his ears, and when he blinked again, it was to see one very unimpressed kitsune demon staring down at him.

"You must be a special kind of stupid," Kamiki Izumo, the general of the fourth floor, remarked down to him.

"How?" Renzou whined aloud, rubbing at his head as he forced himself to sit up. "And I'm new, aren't you supposed to be nice to me? So cruel."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, anyone who actually decides to pick a fight with Yukio is automatically stupid, rookie or not."

"Yukio? Was that his name?" He pulled a clawed hand away from his forehead, but thankfully, no blood. Just sore, then.

"You seriously don't know?" Kamiki asked, expression incredulous. As he nodded, she scoffed, turning away from him to pull a chair up from the table at the center of the room. "God, you must've lived under a rock, then. That was Okumura Yukio, damn near the strongest and deadliest ranger that the humans have ever produced. A fight with him is a death sentence for even demons like us."

He groaned and flopped back down on the floor. "Well, it would've been nice to know that!"

"Not our fault that you're exceptionally dumb," She replied, dry.

"You're too pretty to be so cruel!"

"Wh- excuse you?!"

Renzou just barely managed to dodge an angry tail slap by rolling across the floor, but as he grinned and turned to face her, her irritated expression quickly killed his joke. He pouted- no fun, no fun at all. Thankfully, the door to the break room office opened then, and in came the gentle, blond haired satyr general from the third floor.

"Moriyama!" He cried, scrambling up from the floor to hide behind her body. "Protect me! Kamiki is bullying me!"

She startled as he ducked behind her, but then she held a hand to her mouth and giggled. "Oh, really?"

"Yes! And all because I didn't know who this Yukio guy was!"

"Oh!" Moriyama blinked, her eyes widening. "You mean Yuki? He came up?"

"Yeah, you just missed him," Kamiki said, but Reznou's mind was caught on that one nickname.

"Yuki? You know him?!" He demanded, grabbing her hands and holding them tight. He might just be able to get more information on this pretty adventurer!

"Uh, yeah!" Moriyama nodded, wide-eyed. "We've been friends for a couple of years, since we were both really young."

"Moriyama, you God send!" Renzou cried, squeezing her hands tight, He pulled her closer to whisper to her quietly. "Does he have a boyfriend? Girlfriend? Friend-that's-kind-of-more-than-a-friend-but-isn't-official-yet?"

"Oh my God, are you serious?" Kamiki slapped her hands to her face, rubbing at her eyes. "A human adventurer thrashes you, and suddenly you're in love?"

"Well, hey, he just caught me off guard! I'll get him next time, and I'll ask him out then!" Renzou protested.

But the kitsune only scoffed, grinning at him mockingly. "Good luck with that. You're so weak that I doubt he'll even give you a second glance before he sends you packing again."

Renzou deflated, dropping Moriyama's hands as he huffed to himself. She patted his shoulder sympathetically, but after a second, his ears perked up and so did he. "Wait, so you mean that if I give him a good enough fight, I'll get his attention?"

"Maybe," Kamiki shrugged, as the door opened to let the Hojo sisters in for the beginning of the end-of-the-day general's meeting. "But I doubt you'll actually manage to get anywhere with him. He's starting to get so strong that even Lena's giving up on stopping him at the eighth floor."

As the rest of the generals filed in, her words settled into his skin, but he refused to take them to heart. He was confident in himself- Yukio had just managed to catch him off guard last time, that was all! If the adventurer came again, then Renzou would give him such a good fight that Yukio would be tripping over himself for the demon's attention!

* * *

"You're back!"

It took another week or so before the white-clothed man was at his floor again. As soon as Renzou saw him, he threw aside the human mage he'd been toying with and raced to stand before him. This time, when he stood in front of Yukio, he loosened the proverbial muscle he'd been tensing, letting the black flames in his core free. The fire came forth from his skin like a breath of fresh air, and brought with them a rush of energy that had him excited.

Surely even this little would be enough to stop Yukio and get his attention.

"Oh, you're still here," The adventurer noted, with clinical detachment. The lack of awe in his eyes had Renzou pouting- his flames were cool as hell, dammit! "So you're a fire spirit, I presume?"

"Yeah, I guess," Renzou sighed. This wasn't going nearly as cool as he'd envisioned in his mind. "I'm a breed of phoenix demon, the black flame type."

There was just the briefest quirk of the Yukio's eyebrow. "Black flame? A strong breed, then."

He felt excitement crop up at Yukio's words. So the guy did know how strong he was! Maybe this was still salvageable! If he could just get Yukio interested, then Renzou's naturally suave and romantic nature would take over, and he'd totally get the other man out on a date.

Everything was falling together perfectly~

"But not the strongest out of the fire types, if I recall correctly."

The words hit Renzou like stones from above.

"In any case, I must be going," Yukio said, oblivious to the demon's despair. "I'm late enough already."

Before Renzou even really realized what was going on, the adventurer was moving off towards the stairs. A sense of deja vu hit him as he reached out to grab Yukio by the length of his coat, and the man turned back to look at him.

"Again?" Yukio asked, something like exasperation coloring his voice.

Renzou flushed a bit, but refused to give up. "Yes, again!"

He was going to beat this mysterious adventurer, and claim his victory in the form of a date!

But then there was a giggling naiad spirit who flashed into existence beside Yukio, and Renzou screeched as a waterfall of holy water promptly washed him out of existence.

* * *

"You know, there are much faster ways of killing yourself if that's what you're going after."

Renzou groaned as he leaned his cheek against the cool wood of the table, soothing the residual burns left behind by Yukio's last attack. He was sore, and tired, and his pride was more than a little wounded, and Kamiki's teasing of him was not making this situation any better.

_I can't believe I ever thought she was pretty,_ he though to himself, sourly. _She's a demon, through and through._

"How many times does he have to send your pathetic ass packing before you give up?" She asked.

When he picked his head up, she was examining her nails, bored. He glared at her tiredly. "I'm not giving up, and he's not gonna kick my ass again! I just- keep underestimating him, is all."

"Why do you want his attention so bad?" She dropped her hand to give him a stink eye. "Are you a masochist, or something?"

"No!" He said, instinctively, then hesitated. "...maybe?"

"Gross! I'm not helping you anymore!" Kamiki snapped, a disgusted look on her face as she stood and left him behind.

"Help? You haven't helped me at all!" He complained. "All you're doing is making fun of me!"

"I bet you like that, don't you? Pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert!"

But as he waited for Yukio for the second week in a row, he wondered if maybe she was right. He'd never spent so much time on one person before, especially not a person who clearly had no problem sending him packing. And just to make things worse, he was starting to realize that he was just becoming more interested in Yukio with each encounter- even when said encounters left him having to revive from holy water soaked ashes in the break room!

But he couldn't help himself! Such a cool, mysterious guy... and a pretty one, too. Sure, he had yet to give Renzou more than a passing glance, but he could fix that! He'd get Yukio today, he knew it!

"You heal remarkably quickly, even for a phoenix," Was all that Yukio said, when he came to the tenth floor again.

Renzou crossed his arms and huffed. "That's all? No 'hey, I'm sorry for throwing holy water all over you'?"

"One could argue that it was your own fault for revealing your own weakness," He tilted his head just a bit to the side.

"Well, I can't help it," The demon sighed dramatically. "I have a weakness for pretty people."

The man blinked.

"...what?"

Renzou was equally as surprised as Yukio, but more so to see the first break in the other man's typically uninterested expression. He quickly grinned, however, intent on seizing the opening he'd created, and opened his mouth to continue- only to yelp and jump back as an arrow whistled past his ear. He scrambled back to a safe distance, dodging arrows upon arrows of magic until he finally managed to hide behind a pillar.

"Jeez, could you give a guy a warning first?" He complained loudly, peering over the side of the pillar to see where Yukio had gone.

"If you thought flirting would be a clever way to distract me," Came the man's voice from behind him. "You're sorely mistaken."

Renzou's eyes widened, and it was only by a stroke of luck that he managed to duck fast enough to dodge the projectile from above his head. He glanced only briefly at the wall as he ran, and felt his eyes widen impossibly more at the jagged, broken spears of ice that broke through and off of the stone.

_Ice, huh? It sure as hell fits!_

But it also meant he had an advantage, if only a small one. Renzou could hear footsteps from behind him, and given Yukio's ability to fight long distance with his bow, that could only mean one thing: he had something lethal to fight with up close as well. He knew the man had the bow, the ice, and the naiads, so he had to make a split second bet.

Was Yukio going to fight with the naiad first, or the ice?

He muttered a quick prayer and skidded to a halt, his heel claws digging deep into the stone to stop his momentum enough to whip around. The fire at his shoulders raced down his arms, and as he made eye contact with the adventurer, they leapt off of his fingertips. The ice across Yukio's arms melted beneath the flames, and Renzou bit back a shout of excitement as his luck held out.

Excitement turned to confusion as the fire burned a path up the adventurer's sleeves, then to sheepishness as his clothing was burned, then back to confusion and finally, the overwhelming feeling of _oh shit I fucked up_ as Yukio merely frowned distastefully and wiped the flames off of his skin.

"How-"

"Oh, that," Yukio said, giving a cursory glance to his burned clothes. "I'm immune to fire. I am not, however, immune to bills, so if you wouldn't mind-"

There was the giggle of a naiad, and he looked up to see a bowl of holy water turning above him.

"-I might borrow your wallet, once this is all over," Yukio continued, smiling a deceptively gentle smile at him as the water fell. "My apologies, and farewell."

* * *

It was the fourth time Yukio was going to come up to the tower again, and Renzou was prepared this time.

His last defeat had only fired him up even more. Sure, he was at a major disadvantage with his flames being entirely negated, but he hadn't been appointed in Kinzou's place for nothing. No self respecting demon would base their entire attack on one ability, and Renzou was no different.

This time, he held a tall, golden staff in his hands, and he stood at the center of the room in his released form. It was an ugly thing- the feathered, double jointed legs; the blackened claws; the crown of feathers at his head -and he preferred to keep it hidden away whenever possible. It always tended to scare off his romantic prospects, you see (particularly the black of his sclera, a disturbing thing for even him to look at), but he knew he couldn't hold anything more back.

_"If you really want to get his attention, you have to give him an impressive enough display of power," Kamiki had said, though her seriousness was belied by the dramatic amount of space that she had put in between them. "If you can't catch his eye with your strength, you're dead out of luck."_

_Mamushi gave him a disdainful once-over from across the table, her impressive tail gathered beneath her. "If you want my opinion, use your true form. You're pathetically small as you are, no one in their right mind would test their chances with such a tiny mate."_

_Her two sisters nodded in agreement, curled up beside her. Renzou resisted the urge to point out that humans probably didn't mate in the same way that nagas did, and so his size didn't really matter- it wouldn't be worth the argument (and the insults to his family name)._

_"The guy is nerdy as hell, but he's strong," Shiratori said reluctantly, disgust evident on his expression as he forced himself to say it. "You have to prove your strength, or he's just gonna find someone bigger and badder."_

_Kamiki nodded in agreement. "Once you prove that you're a safe choice and you can defend him from other people, then you'll have your chance."_

So all he had to do was prove that he was a strong option, right? He could do that. He was a strong guy! He'd get Yukio's attention, get that date, and go from there!

Even if this form of his was... less than attractive.

"That's new," Yukio noted, once he finally arrived. His eyes were curiously staring at Renzou's figure.

"Please don't look at it too hard," He sighed, resigned.

This time, he didn't wait for Yukio to initiate. His claws left gouges in the stone as he launched himself towards the adventurer, and brought his staff around to crack harshly against the shield of ice that Yukio formed around his arms. Sizable chunks of ice fell to the ground, but he pressed his advantage as hard as he could. He swung the staff about again, and each attack, Yukio blocked with his arms.

It seemed pointless, but they were leaving shards of ice behind with each step, and Yukio was getting slower with rebuilding the shield each time. Renzou grinned to himself- things were finally starting to go his way! A burst of fire propelled his staff forward hard enough to crack entirely through the ice. Yukio grunted as the metal collided against his arm, and the demon shoved the staff forward to pin him against the wall behind him.

Yukio hadn't even realized that Renzou was leading him, haha!

Their arms strained as Yukio pushed forward and Renzou pushed him back, but for once, he had the advantage of strength, and he managed to keep Yukio in place. He turned mischievous eyes up at the adventurer, but Renzou's mood dropped when he saw the only mild curiosity in the other man's eyes.

"So you can fight with a staff," Yukio murmured, glancing down at the golden metal.

"That's all you have to say?!" He cried, offended. "God, you're hard to impress!"

"Impress?" The adventurer looked up from Renzou's staff, eyes widened marginally, but then his expression shifted to one of irritation. "This again? I already told you, flirting is quite a juvenile and ineffective form of distraction."

Renzou blinked. "What? Distract you?"

"That's... what you're doing," Something like uncertainty crossed his face. "Right?"

"No way! I'm making a bona fide, genuine effort here!"

"Why?" Yukio asked, bewildered.

Ah, this was his chance! He eagerly pulled his staff back and reached down to grab Yukio's hand, bending over to press a dramatic kiss to the adventurer's knuckles.

"I'm glad you asked," He said, winking up at him. "Because from the moment I saw you, your beautiful eyes stole my heart. But! Never fear, I will accept a date as an apology~!"

Renzou could see pink creeping across Yukio's cheeks, and for a second, he was startled.

"Wait, that seriously worked?!"

But then Yukio's expression twisted into one of irritation, and he yanked his hand away. "Stop messing around!"

Renzou yelped as ice sprouted up beneath his feet, but as he scrambled backwards, he was completely thrown off guard to see Yukio making a break for the stairs, completely leaving him behind.

"Hey, where are you going?!" He called after the adventurer, but he yanked his foot up only to realize that it was encased ankle-deep in a block of ice. Renzou looked back up at Yukio, who was already halfway up the stairs. "I wasn't messing around! I'm serious!"

But Yukio was already gone, and Renzou was left behind, baffled, in defeat.

* * *

"You Shima are utterly insufferable!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Renzou shrieked as he dodged the three angry naga at his back, dashing through the hallways in an attempt to escape the Hojo sisters. Something hurtled past his face, and he let out a yelp as he watched the heavy book hit the floor just to his side. "Stop trying to kill me! I'm sorry!"

"It's better we get rid of you before you can torment anyone else!" Mamushi hissed, and another tome was thrown. "A pick up line?! You're incorrigible!"

"But he liked it!"

"No he did _not!!"_ Nishiki shouted angrily.

He made a beeline for the window at the end of the hallway, trying to get his feet moving fast enough to get there before they could catch him. Renzou tossed out a short burst of fire to open up the window panes, and managed to get one leg through the window before he abruptly halted.

Because down, by the base of the tower, was Yukio himself.

He froze in the window, even as Mamushi's cold hand clamped down on his shoulder. She started to yell something at him, but he held a finger up to his mouth and shushed her furiously. It was incredibly unlikely that Yukio would even be able to hear them as far away as he was, or how he seemed to be staring off into the distance as he walked, but he still would have died of embarrassment if their fifth meeting started off with Renzou falling from the sky.

"I suppose he's leaving already, then," Mamushi remarked, as Renzou leaned back inside the tower and away from the window.

"He was pretty fast this week," Ao added.

"Why does he come so often, anyways?" Renzou asked. "I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything, but-"

Mamushi smacked his arm harshly, giving him a stink eye as he yelped and dodged away. "Brat. As if you deserve to know."

"He's visiting Rin," Nishiki answered, only to flinch back as her sisters glared at her. "What? He asked!"

Rin? Renzou's mind started whirring a mile a minute. Who was Rin? Was that a friend of his? Who would fight their way all the way up a hundred floors of demons for just a friend, though? Surely they had to be his lover, he realized as defeat washed over him. He slumped over, groaning- he'd lost the battle before he even knew there _was_ one.

"What's wrong with you?" Mamushi asked, irritated.

"Nobody said he had a lover already!" Renzou whined. "I can't go steal him away from Rin."

"Wh-"

"You idiot!"

Renzou yelped again as he was hit once more.

"Stupid!" Ao hissed. "Rin is his brother, his twin brother! You're disgusting!"

Oh. _Oh._ Oh!

"Gross, gross, gross, I take it back!" He held his hands up to fend off the sisters' attacks, waving them frantically. "I didn't know! You didn't say Rin was his brother, I didn't know!"

"Typical of the Shima family," Mamushi huffed.

"Agreed!"

"It's just like them!"

Nishiki sniffed, crossing her arms. "Maybe if you weren't such a perverted flirt, you wouldn't have assumed wrong."

"I'm sorry! Geez, I won't do it again!"

"You say that, but we all know you're going to hit on him as soon as he comes back again!"

"Well, I-" He stopped up short, the gears in his brain screeching to a halt. "Wait. Rin. His brother, Rin. Tenth floor general, Rin?"

"Duh."

"Demon king, tenth floor general, Rin?"

"Who else?"

"The _dragon,_ demon king, tenth floor general, Rin?"

"Get on with it!"

Renzou smiled, holding a thumbs up. "I'm going to die."

Mamushi's eyes narrowed in confusion, then a grin broke out across her face as she realized as well. "You've been hitting on our king's younger brother!"

"He's going to kill you!" Ao laughed.

"I'd say he'd eat you alive, but that would be too quick for him!"

"You're going to get flayed alive! Ha! A fitting end for a Shima!"

"Brought to his death by his own foolish machinations! I can't wait to see your idiot father's face! Haha!"

Renzou could feel the soul draining out of him with each word that came out of the Hojo sisters' mouths, as the gravity of the situation really, really sunk into his bones. He'd really done himself in this time- flirting with the tower's strongest general's younger brother? And after how Yukio had run off yesterday, and what Renzou had said?

He was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that Yukio had told the king what happened, and it was only a matter of time until Rin would call him up and murder him for his offense.

Except, his time was running out- they had only minutes until the end of the day general's meeting.

_I'm going to die before I've lasted even a month here._

He went through the last few minutes of his day on earth in a haze, feeling the gloom of impending death around him like a cloud. He couldn't stop thinking of how the king was going to kill him- maybe burning him over and over again until his regeneration gave up? Maybe what the Hojos had suggested earlier, and death by digestion? Maybe Rin would just tear him to shreds and toss them out in a lake? He'd never be able to revive then.

He was going to die.

"Shima?"

_I'm going to die, right now._

It was with all the reluctance in the world that Renzou stopped just before the doorway of the break room, turning around slowly as if dragging the moment out would stop it from happening. The king was behind him, he knew, and he tried to ignore the scattered chuckling and giggling of the other generals as they passed by him.

He had plenty of reason to be scared of the man before him, even if the king looked his own age. Rin (Okumura, how did he never make that connection before?) wasn't particularly tall, but the way his entire body seemed to radiate power was more than enough to make height utterly negligible. He was covered in dark black and midnight blue scales, and curling horns cropped up from his forehead in jagged, sharp spirals. His eyes were an electric blue, slitted, narrowed as he looked up at Shima.

"You're Shima Renzou, right?" Rin asked, voice deceptively young sounding. Even with the expression of calm on his face, Renzou knew how deadly Rin's claws could be, had seen the king's hulking, towering dragon form defend the castle from armies before. The man before him was dangerous in every sense of the word, and Renzou fucking knew that.

"Y-Yeah!" He squeaked. "Please don't kill me, I swear to God I'll never talk to Yukio again, I won't even look his direction, I won't think about him, or-"

"What?" The demon king asked, confused. "Dude, what are you talking about? I'm not gonna kill you."

Renzou's mind went blank. "What."

"I'm not gonna kill you just because you're flirting with my little brother," He snorted out a laugh, grinning a sharp grin. "He kinda needs it, don'tcha think? He's such a stick in the mud, it wouldn't kill him to get out a bit."

Renzou blinked.

"I'm gonna be honest," He said, slowly. "I do not have the mental capacity to process this shit right now."

Rin raised an eyebrow, cocking his hip to the side. "What's to process? Tight ass Yukio, plus you, equals not so tight ass Yukio, get it?"

"Um," He closed his eyes, sucked in a breath, then opened them again. "I think I've been bullied."

"Ha! Sounds like a personal problem!" Rin cackled, reaching out to slap Renzou's arm on his way into the break room. "Anyways, if it's my blessing you want or whatever, you got it. He likes seafood, try that!"

And... that was that?

* * *

"They seriously said I was gonna eat you?" Rin asked, bewildered.

"Yes!" Renzou whined. "Totally bullying me!"

This was his first time in Rin's throne room in the hundredth floor, but he'd already made himself at home on the steps leading up to the demon king's throne. He sprawled across the stone as Rin sat perched just above him, tail and wings sprawled across the stairs as Renzou bitched about everything that had gone wrong in the past month.

"I mean, maybe if you were like, really bad," Rin's expression wrinkled with distaste. "But you're not... awful, I guess."

"Aw, thanks," Renzou said, dryly. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, dude."

The demon king only shrugged. "What? It's not like I know what his type is. The guy hasn't dated since ever."

"Lucky for me, I guess," He sighed, leaning his head back. "I really suck at all the mating rituals and all."

"...mating rituals," Rin repeated, slowly. "You were trying demonic mating rituals... on Yukio."

"Uh, yeah?"

"...who's human."

"...shit."

"Ha! No wonder you never made any progress!" Rin howled, slapping at his thighs as he laughed. "You idiot!"

"It's not my fault!" Renzou cried. "It's what the girls suggested! You know, displays of strength! Increase my size! I dunno, that shit!"

The demon king wheezed, wiping tears away with his clawed fingers. "Oh my God, dude, no, Yukio doesn't give a shit about that. The only thing you're doing is picking a fight with him, no wonder he's been kicking your ass to kingdom come!"

"Ugh, what do I do then?"

"Follow more human mating rituals? Actually, stop calling them mating rituals, just call it dating or whatever," Rin held a hand to his chin, eyebrows furrowing in thought. "As for how to get him... you gotta be obvious. He's smart as hell, but he's dense as a brick when it comes to romance. He either won't get it, or think you're joking."

"That sounds about right," Renzou sighed. "Last time he ran off."

Rin snorted. "He told me about that. I guess you did something right, he was blushing like a tomato when he got up here! Feathers totally ruffled."

"Really? My pick up lines got to him?" He asked, incredulous. It was that easy the whole time?

"I guess so," The demon king shrugged. "I never said he was high maintenance, just dumb as a rock when it comes to romance."

"So?" Renzou twisted around onto his stomach, looking up at Rin. "What do you suggest I do?"

"Well, besides those shitty liners that apparently work? Try like, a dinner maybe. Ask him questions about smart guy stuff, show that you're genuinely interested in him. He's like a turtle, dude, you come at him too strong and he's gonna duck back into his shell."

He thought back on the ice around his ankles and Yukio's retreating figure, and nodded in agreement. That made sense, at least.

But then, another thought occurred to him. "Hey, how do you know about this stuff, anyways?"

"Um," Rin's cheeks abruptly started to flush, and he glanced away. "I... might... maybe be dating someone? But you can't tell Yukio! He'll lose his mind if he finds out!"

"Alright, alright, I won't, I swear! Bro code!" Renzou held his hands up appeasingly, and Rin's embarrassment started to die down a bit at the reassurance. "...why can't he know?"

The demon king huffed a bit, and shrank in on himself.

"Because he doesn't think I leave the tower," Rin grumbled. "He comes up here to visit me because he thinks I stay here all the time. If he knew I was leaving, he'd totally kill me."

"Why?"

"Uh, because I have the biggest bounty on my head of any demon in existence?" Rin said, dryly, and Renzou realized exactly how stupid his question had been.

"Right," He chose to shift the subject, instead. "So? Subtle, take it slow?"

"Yeah!"

* * *

"...what is this?"

Renzou grinned triumphantly up at Yukio from his perch on the floor. Spread out before him was a blanket and a full spread of sushi and various other snacks, alongside drinks and plenty of candles, of course. He eagerly reached over to pat the other side of the blanket, where the adventurer was meant to sit.

"It's a date!" He chirped. "You and me! Come come!"

Yukio only stood there, stunned.

"C'mooooon!" Renzou pressed. "Sit!"

"I- I have to go see-"

"No you don't!" Renzou interrupted. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, where ' _this is me telling you to stop bein such a lame ass nerd!!!!! go on the date'_ was written in Rin's scrawled script.

"This is a joke," Yukio asserted, though the frown on his face didn't look entirely confident. "It's not funny."

"Not a joke, either!"

"A distracti-"

"Wrong again!"

"...an attempt to gather inf-"

Renzou groaned aloud, rolling his eyes. "It's a date, dude, a date! C'mon, sit down, you must be tired."

"Tired?" Yukio asked, confused.

_Hook, line, and sinker._ Renzou grinned. "Because you've been running through my mind all day~!"

There was a few seconds of silence, then he could see that same pretty pink dust itself across Yukio's pale cheeks, and he let out a whoop.

"I can't believe that worked!"

Yukio only scowled, backing away. "If this is your idea of entertainment, then I want nothing to do with it!"

"Wait!" Renzou leapt to his feet and carefully hopped over the food spread to stop Yukio, reaching out to grab his hands. The adventurer looked equal parts embarrassed and irritated, but he didn't yank his hands away. "I'm sorry, really, I shouldn't have joked! Buuuuut... I'd be more than happy to make it up to you, if you'd let me?"

He could see Yukio debating internally with himself, and squeezed the other man's hands as if he could somehow communicate his high hopes through touch. Yukio's beautifully teal eyes looked over at the spread of food, then at Renzou, then back up towards the ceiling before he eventually sighed.

"Fine," He said, reluctantly, as if the flush across his face didn't make it abundantly clear that he was more interested than he let on. "But only for a few minutes. I'm busy."

"That works!" Renzou released his hands to hop back over to his spot on the blanket, and waited expectantly for Yukio to sit down as well.

The adventurer did so, slowly, as if he was still debating whether or not to leave. Renzou slid him a plate of sashimi, grinning.

"I heard it was your favorite," He said, winking. "But if you really want some seafood, why don't you get a taste of these muscles? Eh, geddit? Muscles? Ah? Ah?"

His grin only widened when he managed to startle something like a smile out of Yukio, but then the adventurer hid his smile behind his fist and a fake cough.

"Ha! You resist now, but I have plenty more where this came from! Here, here, feel my shirt, huh? You know what that is?"

"I'm regretting this already."

_"Boyfriend material."_

"I'm leaving."

It took him quite a few minutes to finally get Yukio's guard down, but luckily, Renzou had come prepared. He had an arsenal of oneliners and pickup lines, and wove them (rather deftly, in his opinion) into perfectly phrased questions about Yukio that clearly had the other man enraptured. He'd never admit it, of course, but Renzou could see him fighting harder to resist smiling, and even harder still to hide his ever reddening ears.

He didn't know how, but something was working, and he was making progress!

Minutes passed by with conversation and shared bites of food, where a particularly disgusting and poorly phrased quip had Yukio snorting over a bite of sushi, sending rice flying from his mouth. That had Renzou cackling, and soon enough, the other man was chuckling along as well as soon as he got over his embarrassment. It seemed to loosen something, and when the food was gone and the conversation was done, he felt like he'd managed to worm himself into Yukio's attention, somehow.

And a big fuck you to the generals when it had been through cheesiness rather than some crazy strength display!

When all was said and done, and it was time to be going, Renzou was the first to stand. He prided himself on being a gentleman, of course, and thus offered a hand down to Yukio to help the other man up. Yukio reluctantly took it, muttering something about ' _I can stand on my own',_ but when he was on his feet, Renzou could see the adventurer visibly realize how close they were.

The adventurer had the height advantage here, but only by scant inches. They were near chest to chest, so close Renzou could see the smallest fingerprint on the lenses of Yukio's glasses. He grinned, and waggled his eyebrows at the other- he still held Yukio's hand in his own.

"So," He started, mischievous. "You kiss on the first date?"

The human flushed darkly, eyes darting to the side. "...maybe the second, or... third, perhaps."

Renzou's eyes widened as he realized, and he smiled at that. "Is that a proposal for another date?"

"It... might be."

"Ha! I'll take it!"

* * *

Renzou did get that kiss, eventually. It took three more dates, five more visits and two additional battles before he got consent, but God, was he excited when he did.

He was actually losing the battle, when it happened. He'd slipped on a puddle of Yukio's melted ice in the middle of the fight, and when the adventurer caught him by the wrist and pulled him back up to standing, there was a palpable sort of tension between them. Renzou distinctly remembered glancing down at Yukio's lips, the same pair he'd damn near been fantasizing about for weeks, and looked back up at Yukio's eyes.

"Figure we been on enough dates now?" He'd asked, breathless, staff in hand.

"I've never kissed anyone before," Yukio confessed, quietly. "I want to, but-"

Renzou hadn't wasted any time. He let the staff fall to the floor with a clatter, and looped a leg around Yukio's knees to send the other man falling backwards. He caught Yukio by the waist, dipping him low enough to be romance-movie worthy, and when they finally kissed, it was like the world was finally slotting into place.

Of course, Kamiki's fake gagging in the background did sour it a bit.

**Author's Note:**

> I alsooooo would like to put it here, but I do have a tumblr (@yuriotoko) now! Here is where I have a list of all the fanfics i have published, and I also give sneak peeks of upcoming oneshots and chapters of my fanfics ;) 
> 
> I have a twitter as well (@yuri_otoko) mostly for stupid memes and more info about various fanfics! I post some fanfic ideas on there for feedback and all (tho it's also a lot of me thirsting over shura LMAO)
> 
> Self promo aside, thank you for reading! Comments and criticisms are always appreciated.


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